Continental Club maverick Steve Wertheimer pays tribute to his mentor – with a nightclub

Music StoryJanuary 31, 2014, by Michael Corcoran

"..."If it wasn't for C-BoyParks, I wouldn't be in the music business," he told a couple who asked him about the name of the club, which opened amid much oohing and ahhing at the former location of dive bar Trophy's...."

Q: What do you get when you combine the Continental Club, Trophy's, and the Rome Inn? A: C-Boy's.

Music ColumnMay 4, 2012, by Kevin Curtin

"...The South Congress fixture of 20 years will shut down in the coming weeks as it undergoes what Sprauer calls a "total face-lift," which, beyond an outside patio upgrade and a desperately called for bathroom rebuild, will include decor evocative of Sixties soul, funk, and R&B. The new bar will be called C-Boy's, honoring Wertheimer's friend, the late C-BoyParks, who ran the legendary Rome Inn here in an era far, far away..."

"...The dimly lit club, which will specialize in soul, blues, and R&B, features an upstairs lounge, back deck, and a tinsel-backdropped stage for weekend entertainment. Behind the bar hang vintage Austin blues posters and photographs of a young Wertheimer with his musical mentor C-BoyParks, the beloved barbecue cook and spirit behind Austin's Rome Inn, where several legendary musicians cut teeth in the Seventies and Eighties..."

"...The laid-back hangout that South Congress sorely needed, C-Boys opened last weekend in the old Trophy’s space as a two-story soul and blues lounge founded by Continental Club owner Steve Wertheimer in tribute to his late musical mentor C-BoyParks. The black and red, dimly lit club opens for good on Tuesday night with the “Tyrant of Texas Funk,” Mike Barfield...."

"...During college days at UT, our group (who all worked at the University Co-op bookstore), would amble on down to the Nighthawk #2 at the corner of Guadalupe and 20th Street for lunch, or for a post partying munchie fest late at night. The legendary C-BoyParks was a fixture behind the grill and all of the waitresses were regulars who could dish it out as good as they could take it...."

"...12th) is a smoke-stained barbecue shack in business since 1943. Serving lunch on weekdays only, their slogan (quoting the late Austin pitmaster C-BoyParks) is "Need no teef to eat my beef." It's all about the meat: mesquite-smoked brisket, pork loin, Elgin sausage, and chicken..."

"...Named after the high school football stadium a block away (the building that houses Austin Community College's Rio Grande campus was the original Austin High School), House Park serves lunch on weekdays in a small, crowded, and smoke-stained room, replete with memorabilia. They proudly display their slogan on the ramshackle yellow marquee: "Need no teef to eat my beef." This tidbit of barbecue folk wisdom is attributed to longtime Austin pit master, the late C-BoyParks..."

"...House Park's slogan, which has graced the marquee for decades, is probably better known than the excellent mesquite-smoked bill of fare. "Need no teef to eat my beef" is attributed to the late C-BoyParks, longtime Austin pit-master, kitchen boss of the late Night Hawk No..."

"..."The intrigue surrounding the place was as dizzying as roaming around inside. Apparently this was the Rome Inn, and the owners, a Canadian couple, just up and left town one day, leaving the club's cook and dishwasher, C-BoyParks, to take over the venue's proprietorship! It wasn't hard to come by the Rome's backstory, as the bulk of the patrons were wiping their noses and talking loudly -- it was hard to tell which was flowing faster, whiskey or cocaine...."

"...You know, his motto was always, 'There's nothing accidental about quality,' and that's something I've never forgotten." Akin wasn't Hoover's only influence during the Night Hawk days. He recalls pulling many a shift with the fabled local barbecue wizard C-BoyParks and working side by side with the venerable black chef "Mr..."

Out on a Limb... oh boy, is it ever. French master farceur Veber takes his second shot at Hollywood directing (Three Fugitives was his first) and comes up several branches...

Film ReviewSeptember 11, 1992, by Marjorie Baumgarten

"...Situations aren't mined for all they're worth, the performances are lackluster, continuity is shattered at a few points and the tone is a strange cross-mixture of comedy and action drama. Of note is the lush musical score by fallen recording artist Van Dyke Parks..."

"...Following his recent divorce from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, who based her play Topdog/Underdog on his youthful experiences playing three card monte, Oscher relocated in from Venice Beach, Calif., to cozy, little Manchaca...."

Small Texas towns look to Austin and Washington to jump-start economic development

News StoryFebruary 23, 2001, by Kevin Fullerton

"...In the past, would-be entrepreneurs in small towns haven't shown much inclination to plan sustainable economic growth, however, and some wonder if a new influx of capital will fund thousands of acres of new catfish farms, empty industrial parks, and outlet malls.Getting the Dollars to Early That brings us back to Early, one of the few beacons of local initiative that gives legislators hope. Seven years ago, Early was one of only two towns to apply for a state grant to build a business incubator, a facility that provides office space and consulting to start-up businesses..."

"...The FFFFest discussion, which followed, was slightly less emotional although it had its own unanticipated twist. The space issue had essentially been settled in negotiations between the festival owners (Transmission Events) and the Parks and Recreation Department (encouraged by Council prodding), but coincident nonprofit events – the Settlement Home's annual charity estate/garage sale and the Lyric Opera's production of Aida – were only reluctantly signing on to the working agreement, because they fear traffic, parking, and sound-bleeding snafus (which have happened before) will overwhelm all the city’s efforts to mitigate them..."

"...The screening of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (June 17-20) complements the AFS screening of two other Tarkovsky films; look also for such screenings as Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai (7/11-17), Vittorio De Sica's The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (6/23), and titles ranging from The Man Who Fell to Earth (7/4-10) to Charlotte's Web (8/8-10). For kids, there's also the Austin Parks & Recreation Splash Parties on Saturdays at various municipal pools (schedule included) and the Austin Film Society's yet-to-be-announced Summer Kids Program...."